To Help a Dying Toon
by Skyward98
Summary: Four years ago, the Warner sibs split up after a bad fight. Now, with the eldest dying from the Erasers, a cancer for toons, he seeks out the help of Eddie Valient and Roger Rabbit to find his brother and sister. Will Wakko and Dot bury the hatchet for their brother in time? Will Eddie put it all aside to help a dying toon? Read and review! some writing errors
1. The Help

To Help A Dying Toon

"Eddie! Eddie!" Roger Rabbit burst into Valient&Valient, sitting in the desk opposite the private eye. Eddie Valient had cleaned up the desk of his late brother after the Marvin Acme case, with a little help from a toon rabbit.

"Hi Roger." Eddie greeted, tucking some files into a file cabinet. "How's Jessica?"

"Never mind her for a minute-she's doing _wonderful _Eddie!" Roger bubbled. Eddie smirked. "But back on topic! I gotta case for ya Eddie!"

"Roger, I told you last time." Eddie told the rabbit. "If I get a case, it'll come through the station."

"But it's urgent Eddie!" Roger protested, zipping to Eddie's front and hanging there by the private eye's suspenders. "It's a dear freind of mine, he's looking for his brother and sister!"

"What, did they go missing?" Valient demanded. He picked up Roger by the backs of his overalls and set him on the floor.

"No, not exactly." Roger admitted. "They up and left him four years ago, after a huge fight between the three of them. He hasn't seen or heard from them ever since."

"Why is it so important that he find them now?" Eddie asked, sitting at his desk.

"So you'll help?" Roger's eyes lit up with excitement.

"I didn't say that." Eddie denied. "Who's wanting the help anyway?"

"Yakko Warner." Roger answered.

"The Animaniac?" Eddie clarified, sounding a little suprised.

"That's him, though his show was cancelled four years ago." Roger agreed. "So will ya help him Eddie? Please?"

"Why is it so urgent now?" Eddie demanded.

"Why don't you ask him?" Roger retorted. "He's willing to meet with us at his apartment."

TO HELP A DYING TOON

"I thought the Warners lived in a water tower." Valient observed, riding up the elevator to an apartment building in the middle of the city.

"Yakko moved out of the Tower years ago." Roger replied, shrugging.

"After the fight?" Eddie guessed as the elevator stopped and the duo stepped out. The rabbit led him down the hall, nodding.

"Crap!" A hoarse voice yelled behind the door of thier destination. Roger busted in without knocking, and Eddie followed more slowly.

"Are you okay, Yak?" Roger rushed to the side of a toon on the floor.

"I'm fine, Roger. Help me up, will ya?" The toon said, struggling to push himself up.

"What happened to your wheelchair?" Roger demanded, helping Yakko Warner to his feet.

Yakko snorted. "One leg gets paralyzed and they treat you like you're inconpacitated. You, will ya get me my crutch? It's by that chair." He nodded toward the recliner near the window.

Yakko was dressed in his similar tan pants and black belt, but a white dress shirt was on his torso, stretching down to his elbows. Eddie passed him the grey crutch, which Yakko stuck under his right arm, heaving himself off of Roger. His right leg was trapped in a black brace, from his thigh to the middle of his shin. "Thanks, mister." He stuck out a white-gloved four-fingered hand. "Yakko Warner." The toon told Eddie, his black tail crooked. Eddie shook it.

"Eddie Valient." Eddie replied.

"Valient, huh? So Roger wasn't kidding with me." Yakko observed. "Sorry about the mess, tripped over the rug." He apologized, nodding to the broken coffee cup and coffee stained rug. Valient noticed that Yakko's voice kept cracking in places, but the toons said nothing of it, so he didn't either.

"It's fine. Roger said you wanted my help?" Eddie asked.

Yakko sighed; he suddenly looked very tired. "Sit down, please." Yakko requested, hobbling into the kitchen and back. "Roger, could you get that mess? I'm not as limber as I used to be."

"You're still a spring chicken, Yak." Roger retorted with a smile as Yakko swivled with his crutch to sit next to the private eye, a picture in the toon's hand. Roger bent over to help out his friend.

"Cheep cheep." Yakko snarked. He handed Valient the photo.

It was of Yakko and the other two Warners, Wakko and Dot. All three had thier arms around eachother and were smiling brightly and hugely. "I'm gonna be straight with you, Eddie." Yakko began. "I need your help to find my brother and sister. They ran off on me four years ago when a fight turned horribly sour."

"Why try and find them now?" Eddie asked.

"I'm dying Valient." Yakko sighed, looking at the detective with sad eyes. "Two years ago, I caught the Erasers. A cancer that applies to toons. I've been to hell and back fighting a losing battle. Every toon is affected differently, and there's no cure for that very reason. First it paralyzed my right leg, now doctors say its spread to my lungs. I'm in hospice as of now, Valient." Yakko coughed into his sleeve harshly, then continued on. "I don't want to waste what little time I have left getting treatments that won't work. The doctors estimate that I have a few weeks left. I want to spend that time with my little brother and sister. I want to apologize, make amends, let them know I love them."

Eddie sighed. "Listen, Yakko, I'm sorry but, I'm not sure I can help you." The private eye admitted.

"I heard about your brother, and I'm sorry for what happened." Yakko apologized. "He was a good man."

"You knew Teddy?" Eddie demanded, suprised.

"Only by reputation." Yakko patted his knee and got up shakily, hobbling for the kitchen. "Thanks for coming, Valient, and listening to a dying toon's woes." He called over his shoulder.

"Why are you still here, Yakko?" Eddie asked. "Why haven't you let go?"

"Who was the oldest. You or Teddy?" Yakko replied, looking at the private eye with dark brown eyes.

"Teddy was." Eddie answered.

"For the same reason Teddy would've held out for you if he was in my position, if you had left him. For the chance he may see you again." Yakko answered. "As older brothers, the safety of our siblings means millions to us. I want to leave knowing that Wakko and Dot know that I love them more than anything, and that I would give the world and go to the ends of said world to see them happy, no matter what I said four years ago." Yakko smiled saddly at Valient. "Just as Teddy would have done for you." The toon turned and hobbled into the dining room, where a grand piano was sitting. Yakko slowly sat, lifted the lid, and began to play.

"Eddie, you have to help him out." Roger begged. "Teddy would."

Valient frowned at the rabbit. "Yakko." He called. The eldest Warner looked up but didn't stop playing. "I'll do what I can to find your brother and sister." A pleased look came over Yakko's face, his crooked tail twitching happily.

TO HELP A DYING TOON

A week passed since Valient's first meeting with Yakko Warner. Each day at noon, Eddie, Yakko, and sometimes Jessica would have lunch at a cafe near Yakko's apartment, everytime Roger would hound Yakko for not taking his wheelchair. And everytime Yakko would reply: "I've still got one good leg."

"Have you found anything yet, Valient?" Yakko asked one day, sipping his coffee.

"We're closing in on your brother. Records indicate they both live near the city." Eddie replied. Yakko nodded, sighing.

TO HELP A DYING TOON

"We've got a phone number!" Eddie declared truimphantly in the Valient&Valient office. He picked up the office phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?" A british accent accompanied by a deeper voice answered the phone.

"Wakko Warner?" Eddie asked.

A pause. "Who's asking?"

"I'm Eddie Valient, a private eye here in Hollywood." Eddie introduced himself.

"This is Wakko Warner." Wakko relented. "How can I help you?"

"Are you still in contact with your sister, Dot?"

"Well, yes. She and I had dinner last night." Wakko answered, confused. "What's this about, Mr. Valient?"

"It's about your older brother, Yakko." Valient answered honestly. Wakko didn't reply. "Would you and your sister consider meeting me here in the city regarding Yakko?"

A longer pause. "Where?" Wakko asked finally.

Eddie grinned. "North Golden Gate Park."

TO HELP A DYING TOON

Eddie trudged into the park in a trench coat and hat, against the wind, which was strong today. Wakko and Dot Warner stood underneath a tall oak tree, near a cement picnic table. "Thank you both for coming." Eddie shook each of thier hands. "We spoke on the phone, Wakko." Wakko nodded, his hand on his signiture red hat to keep it from blowing off.

"You said it was about Yakko?" Dot asked. The group sat on the cement table, the wind ceasing ever so slightly.

"Am I correct when I say that you both haven't contacted your brother in four years?" Eddie asked. They both nodded. "Yakko asked me for help in finding you both."

"Why? Why start trying after four years?" Wakko demanded.

"You two weren't the easiest to find, even for a trained detective." Eddie replied. He sighed. "Yakko isn't doing to well."

"Whattya mean?" Dot asked, concern in her voice.

"Two years ago, Yakko was diagnosed with Erasers." Valient answered seriously. "He's lost all mobility in his right leg, causing him to walk with a crutch. He doesn't have that much longer, and his doctors have him in hospice. In shorter terms, your brother is dying." Dot's eyes were down on the cement, and Wakko's face was unreadable.

"How much is 'much longer'?" Wakko demanded.

"A couple of weeks." Eddie answered grimly.

"Why doesn't he get treatment?" Dot demanded.

"You could always ask him." Eddie replied. "Dot, Wakko, I'm not going to force you to do anything. But if this oppurtunity was presented to me with my brother, I would take it. If I could have one wish, it would be to see my brother, Teddy, again. That can never be. But, you two have that chance with Yakko." Eddie sighed. "So, would you consider burying the hatchet, and seeing your brother?" Dot and Wakko looked at eachother.

TO HELP A DYING TOON

Yakko hobbled up to the park bench where Eddie and Roger were sitting, looking tired but alert. "Valient, Roger, what's this about?" Yakko asked, shaking the private eye's hand and not noticing the two figures approaching from behind.

"How are you feeling, Yak?" Roger asked.

"I'm still here." Yakko grunted with a humorless smile.

"Well, you're about to feel much better." Eddie chuckled. A look of confusion passed over Yakko's face. "Turn around." Yakko did.

Dot and Wakko came closer to thier stunned brother, light smiles on thier faces. "Jeez, Yakko. You look awful." Wakko teased. Yakko thawed and grinned.

"You should look in a mirror." Yakko retorted. He pulled his siblings into a tight embrace. "I've missed you both so much." He whispered, smiling. Eddie and Roger silently left, giving the reunited family some privacy. "Come on, lemme get a good look at you." Yakko commanded, his brother and sister obeying. "Good lord, you both look great! You especially Dottie."

"Call me Dottie and you die." Dot reminded him with a soft smile.

"Already did." Yakko replied.

"Valient said you were dying." Wakko said, helping his sick brother to the bench.

"I've been to hell and back fighting. Surgeries, treatments, and nothing has worked." Yakko answered. "The last thing I want is to endure anything else and it not work. The Erasers have no cure, and I've been fighting the lost battle for two years. I'm done."

"So now you're in hospice?" Dot clarified. Yakko nodded.

"There's nothing more doctors can do for me." Yakko replied. "But enough on me, what's the last four years been like for you two?"

"I've gone to school for music here in Hollywood." Wakko admitted. "And a week ago a big time producer caught me playing piano at a resturaunt. He's offered me a record deal."

"That's great, Wak!" Yakko congratulated his brother. "I'm happy for you."

"You should tell Dot that." Wakko rubbed the back of his neck, embarressed.

"I've been offered a spot on Broadway." Dot shrugged as if it was nothing.

"_The_ Broadway?" Yakko demanded. Dot nodded. "Dot, that's wonderful. You're both doing so well." All three Warners smiled.

TO HELP A DYING TOON (1 week later)

Yakko weakly laughed, playing the grand piano in his apartment with his brother and sister sitting beside him. The laugh ended in a harsh but short cough, which worried the two youngest Warners. "You never meant what you said that day, did you?" Wakko asked slowly. Yakko sighed and quit playing.

"Of course not, Wakko." Yakko answered firmly, looking at his brother with sad eyes. "I'll readily admit how wrong I was that day. You two were growing up so fast, and I refused to accept it. My eyes were shut pretty tight, because I didn't see the young adults you were becoming. And that you didn't need me anymore."

"We'll always need you, Yakko." Dot hugged her brother as tightly as she dared.

"Apparently not, look at you now." Yakko replied. "A world class musician and Braodway actress, not quite famous yet, but about to be. I'm just the overbearing older brother. You and Wakko went out and made something of yourselves. All I ever did was hold you back, even though I thought I was protecting you. I failed as an older brother, and I'm so sorry." Yakko sighed. "Worst of it all, when I caught the Erasers, I'd thought I was too late to apologize to you both. To right the wrongs I did to you."

"How hard did you look for us?" Wakko blurted.

"Oh, Wak, I did everything I could think of." Yakko blinked a suspicous wetness back. "Police, flyers, and then the very police I went to turned a 180 on me! They said you didn't want me in your lives, and thought it best if I just let you go. You can imagine the temper tantrum I threw once I heard _that _news. First, I was pissed off at you two, then at the police for not dragging you both back from wherever you were, kicking and screaming, then finally myself. I cried myself to sleep that night. I met Roger Rabbit, and he became my ultimate support system. Helping me through all of this, the Erasers, you both, all of it. Roger asked me last month what my one wish would be, after I became hospice. I said if I could have anything, I'd want to see you both again. Roger went to Valient and here we are now." Yakko sighed again. "Wakko, Dot, I can't explain to you how sorry I am for all that I did, all that I said. I'd go, I'd give, anything and anywhere just to prove that. I love you both so much."

Dot and Wakko rushed into thier brother's arms. "We love you too, Yak!" Dot cried. "We accept your apology, if you'll accept ours."

"Yours?" Yakko was confused. "What do you have to apologize for?"

"For abandoning you. And leaving you alone for the past four years." Wakko answered.

"You're here now. That's what matters." Yakko's voice was strained due to the sickness. "And I love you both so much.

"Yakko, will you tell me the story?" Dot asked timidly.

"Of course." Yakko stood and hobbled weakly over to the couch. Dot and Wakko shared a worried look. _He's getting worse. _Thier brother patted the space next to him, a warm smile on his face. The two youngest zipped to his side, Dot in the middle of her two brothers. "Okay. Once upon a time a brave knight married a beautiful princess and they had two sons."

"But they wanted a daughter too." Wakko added. Dot giggled. Yakko coughed a laugh.

"Right. So they planted a garden all over the kingdom, and out of the prettiest flower came.." Yakko's voice kept cutting out in places. But he said nothing about it, so his sibs said nothing either.

"You!" Both brothers declared, one voice weaker than the other.

"So the knight and his bride, Mom and Dad, took you home, and every night at bedtime, they'd come in and say 'Who's the cutest girl?'." Yakko rubbed his red nose to Dot's, chuckling hoarsely when he heard her laugh. "And you'd say.."

"I am!" Dot chirped. The three continued with the story, but when it came to the tickling, Yakko's laughs turned to harsh coughs. Yakko gasped for air, clutching his chest.

"M-M-Mask!" Yakko choked. Wakko grabbed it and Yakko pressed it to his face, breathing in and out forcibly slow. After about a minute, Yakko's air intake was normal again, if not a little heavy. "Thanks." Yakko breathed tiredly.

"You okay, Yak?" Dot demanded.

"I'm fine." Her brother croaked.

"How much.." Wakko couldn't finish. Yakko cupped his face and made his brother look at him. His eyes were tired yet fierce.

"Doctors estimate a week." Yakko told them both.

"You're gonna leave us!" Dot wailed, tackling her sick brother. Yakko grunted and held them both in his arms.

"No, Dottie, never. This'll be perfect for a Disney movie, but I'll never completely leave you." Yakko chuckled sadly at his own reference. "Do you remember our stained window at the Water Tower?" Dot and Wakko nodded tearfully. "Every time you see a ray of sun through that window, or any window for that matter, that'll be me. I'll always be with you, both of you. Always." Wakko pressed his face into his brother's neck fur. Just as soft as he remembers.

TO HELP A DYING TOON (3 DAYS LATER)

Yakko sat at his piano as Wakko approached, lightly smiling. "Hey, lazy bones. How's that song coming?"

"Slowly, very slowly." Yakko sighed. Dot looked up from the paper she was reading from the couch, concerned. Yakko sounded exhausted, flexing his fingers. "My hands are giving me trouble."

"Hurting?" Wakko guessed. Yakko nodded and got up shakily, hobbling out and into his recliner and facing the window.

"Drink up." Dot placed a glass of milk next to Yakko,on the side table. Yakko nodded his thanks.

"I'm so proud of both you." Yakko told her began to play his brother's song, Dot sitting next to him. Yakko smiled wearily, listening. With Dot's help, Wakko finished his brother's song. The milk cup teetered and fell, spilling over the table.

Wakko and Dot turned around, staring at the mess. Wakko's face fell and he put his arm around his sister. Tears slipped out of both thier eyes.


	2. The Funeral

The funeral

"Are you two ready?" Roger Rabbit asked, placing a hand on Wakko's shoulder. Both the guys were in black tuxes but had on bright green ties, or bow tie, in Roger's case. Dot had on a black dress with a green bow in her hair, green being thier brother's favorite color. Wakko nodded.

"No." Dot shook her head.

"We'll have to go sometime." Wakko told her gently. Roger stepped back.

"But if we go, that means Yakko isn't coming back." Dot protested, close to tears. "And I don't think I can handle that."

"We can, Dot. Together." Wakko insisted.

"Why didn't they save him?" Dot demanded, anger flaring in her eyes. Both Roger and Wakko knew who she was talking about.

"They couldn't. They did everything they could for Yakko, but.." Wakko sighed.

"Then what the hell good are they?!" Dot fumed, shooting up out of her seat. They were outside Roger's house, and Dot had been sitting on the rabbit's porch swing.

"It's okay to be angry, Dot." Wakko soothed.

"I am _not _angry." Dot snapped. "I am _pissed off! _He thinks that he can pull us back into his life for _two weeks, _the _last two weeks _of his life, and-and not expect us to-" Wakko pulled his now sobbing sister into his arms, his eyes shut and fighting tears of his own.

"Wakko, Dot, I'm sorry to bring this up." Eddie Valient was by the car that Roger was escorting the Warner siblings in. "But, there's still the matter of your brother's will."

"Surely this can wait, Eddie." Roger insisted.

"Yakko Warner's will has yet to be discussed, Roger." Eddie argued. "If it's not-"

"Do you people _mind?!" _Wakko snapped, losing his paitence. "For God's sake, we're burying my brother today! His will can wait!"

"You're right, Wakko." Roger agreed, glaring at Eddie. The private eye nodded.

"Of course. I'm sorry I brought it up." Valient nodded. "Do you three need another driver? Roger's not the best behind the wheel."

"That would be great. Thanks Valient." Dot sniffled. The four journeyed down to the waiting car and climbed in.

THE FUNERAL

The service took place at a small church outside the Warner Lot, the stained glass window from the Tower now in the church. Flowers and candles surrounded the open casket of thier brother, who looked to be sleeping was dressed in his tan pants, black belt, favorite white shirt that he had worn when he'd first met Eddie Valient, and as a bonus, a green loose tie around his neck. His fur was neatly groomed like his hair, swept to the side and over his closed eyes. Wakko, Dot, Roger, Jessica, and the small group of others that had attended took thier seats, some old co-workers and characters from _Animaniacs!_, like Slappy and Skippy Squirrel, others old friends from the lot like Bugs Bunny and the Tiny Toons characters. Roger stood and made his way to the poduim to the left of the polished cherry wood casket, as he would be leading the service.

"Thank you all so much for coming." Roger began, his voice soft. "You're being here cannot be the easiest task, but is is appreciated by Yakko's family and closest friends." Roger continued on, telling a story of Yakko, one of the funnier ones that hurt Dot and Wakko to hear. Roger motioned for Wakko to get ready to come up as Yakko's voice, carrying _Nations of the World, _flowed through the speakers. Dot began to cry into her hands.

"Thank you so much for being here." Wakko said once his brother's voice left. "As Roger said before, it does mean a lot to me and my sister that you all took the time to be here today. Yakko, at times he could be your worst enemy, others more than a brother. But that was his nature. When I say your worst enemy, if your ideals disagreed with his in any way, shape, or form, he'd be sure to let you know about it. Stubborn as hell, he'd argue tooth and nail until he was blue in the face, literally!" He chuckled sadly, remembering. "But 8 times out of 10, he'd be the most caring and thoughtful toon you'd ever meet. He was a friend, a brother and a protector to me, and Dot, usually all at the same time. But, me and Yakko sometimes had our own language, one that only we could understand. And, if you don't mind, I'd like to show you." Wakko stepped down from the podium, sheet music in his hands. Dot recognised the song the'd finished together the night Yakko died.

Sunlight shown brightly on Wakko, through the stained glass window as the Warner sat down. Wakko smiled sadly. "Hi Yakko." He whispered. He sat down at the piano and began to play.

_For Wakko and Dot_

"If you hear a voice, in the middle of the night

Saying it will be alright, It will be me.

If you feel a hand, guiding you along

When the path seems wrong, It will be me

There is no mountain, that I can't climb

For you I'd swim through, the rivers of time

As you go your way, and I go mine

A light will shine, and it will be me

If there is a key, that goes to your heart

A special part, it will be me.

If you need a friend, call out to the wind

To hold you again, it will be me

Oh, how the world, appears so unfair

Stopping a love, that's meant to be shared

As you go your way, and I go mine

A light will shine, and it will be me.

Past the Ever After, there's a place for three

In your tears of laughter, I'll be there for you

In the Sun and the Moon,

In the Land and the Sea

Look all around you, It will be me

There is no mountain, that I won't climb

For you I'd swim through, the rivers of time

As you go your way, and I go mine

A light will shine, and it will be me

It will be Me

It will be me." Wakko finished, tears slipping out of his eyes. Dot was blubbering in the pew. Wakko went and sat down next to her, Dot burying her face into his shoulder and sobbing. Roger got up and ended the service. Dot and Wakko went and stood by thier brother for the condolences of their friends.

Ten minutes later, Dot, Wakko, Roger, and some of the others stood outside. Wakko watched his sister go up to Yakko and stroke his hair back, saying and crying her final goodbye. Some pictures and a poster of the three of them for _Animaniacs! _ended up inside. Wakko hugged Dot comfortingly, then went up last. "Oh, Yakko, I don't know I'll be able step up for Dot. I'm so sorry, Yak." Wakko's cheeks were drenched by an onslaught of fresh tears. "I never should have left you behind four years ago. I never should have left you alone when you got sick. I'm so sorry, big brother. I failed." Wakko started to sob, feeling Dot's soft hand in his own. "I love you, Yakko, so much." He leaned down and kissed his brother's cold forehead, stroking his cheek. "I'm sorry." With shaking hands, he closed the lid to the cherry wood casket, to Yakko's cold body, closed eyes, and soft fur. To his big brother. The dam busted on Wakko, and he sunk to the grass, sobbing into his hands with his sister's arms tightly around him as she gave the go ahead.

THE FUNERAL

Roger and Eddie had left minutes ago, leaving the Warners alone. Wakko smiled painfully as Dot laid down the final vase of roses in front of the grey marble headstone that belonged to Yakko Warner. Wakko kneeled down and traced the quote he himself had picked out with the tips of his fingers, hoping they would never wear away.

_Watching out for you on love's light wings._


End file.
